Despite the monsoon rains this summer, Arizona still faces a water supply crisis.

Last
month, a group of Hispanic teens rafted the Colorado River
to better understand its challenges and importance to their heritage and their future.
Some of them will be in Washington
tomorrow to share their findings with members of Congress. One of them, Jorge
Cruz-Martinez says the lessons he learned surpassed all his expectations.

“It was way better,” Cruz-Martinez said. “There’s a lot to
say—how it’s important to me and my family and to my community, and how the
beauty was just outstanding, and how after I came back, I’m using the water more resourcefully.”

Cruz-Martinez says the group noticed major drops in the
water level in some places and was surprised at the difference in water quality
and temperature between the Colorado
and the Little Colorado rivers. The trip was organized by Nuestro Rio, a
coalition advocating a healthier Colorado River
system.

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